mike salk

Best move for Red Sox might be promoting Xander Bogaerts

I'm ready for Xander Bogaerts. And I think it's time for the Red Sox to be, too.

As we all know, Wednesday is the trade deadline, and I think we all assume the Sox will be active. They are, after all, a contending team with some fairly clear holes to fill. They have a stacked farm system with a mix of major league-ready and lower prospects. And they have the money to take on salaries that are burdening a potential seller.

But while the rumor mill has Boston focused primarily on pitching, the Sox have looked recently like offense could be a legitimate if not equal concern. July has been their worst offensive month of the season, posting lows in virtually every statistical category.

Those struggles have been exaggerated against left-handed pitching. The Sox' OPS against lefties is roughly 100 points lower than against right handers, and we just recently saw how effective dominant southpaws like Matt Moore and David Price could be against them.

Looking at the potential trade targets, there are few infielders available. Aramis Ramirez and Michael Young's names have surfaced, but most of the other hitters are outfielders. While the Sox could attempt to upgrade their outfield, third base seems like a much more likely (and necessary) spot. Is Young enough of an upgrade to give up a prospect? Maybe. But he is on a one-year deal, so any trade for him is strictly a rental situation. Ramirez is more likely (given his contract through 2014), but he would be more expensive. Is it worth compromising some of the organizational depth when Bogaerts (and even Will Middlebrooks) is a call away? The combination of Jose Iglesias and Stephen Drew hasn't been bad enough to warrant overpaying for a replacement.

That said, the Sox need an offensive spark, and Bogaerts could provide it.

At age 20, Bogaerts is ahead of the curve. According to Baseball America, he was the top prospect in the organization coming into the season, and he's done nothing to dishonor that distinction. After crushing Double-A pitching at Portland (to the tune of a .909 OPS with six home runs in 56 games), he has torn up Triple-A well. He's hit eight home runs for the PawSox in just 40 games, while getting on base at a .377 clip.

“He has a short swing that can handle fastballs inside,” explained a clearly impressed Ryan Rowland-Smith, his Pawtucket teammate who has spent parts of four seasons pitching in the majors. “Most good major league hitters can hit that inside heater, whereas the majority of Triple-A guys get jammed or roll over on it. Bogaerts stays inside that pitch and can hammer it.”

The numbers are there. The ability is there. The need is there. The roster spot is there (see, Snyder, Brandon). And the history is there, too.

Much like Bogaerts, Orioles third baseman Manny Machado came up as a shortstop. He was blocked in Baltimore by J.J. Hardy, a similar situation to what Bogaerts is facing in Boston. There is no doubting that the Orioles did the right thing by calling up Machado last year -- he hit seven home runs in just 51 games with the big club, propelling Baltimore to its first playoff appearance since 1997.

Bogaerts is a year older than Machado was when he was summoned. He played an extra year in the minor leagues, and quite frankly his minor league numbers are superior to Machado's despite playing in a higher class (Machado skipped Triple-A).

Much like Machado, Bogaerts has the personality to deal with pressure at a young age. “He's a great clubhouse guy, too,” Rowland-Smith said. “He's humble, respects the game and always seems like he's enjoying the process.” It's easy to get a big head when you're glorified as much as a top Sox prospect is, but by all accounts Bogaerts has kept a level head.

Closer to home, the Sox did something similar in 2007 when they called up a 23-year-old Jacoby Ellsbury (albeit for the third time) for a September run. Ellsbury hit .367 that month, eventually replacing Coco Crisp in the World Series and helping the Sox win their second title in four years. Obviously, each player reacts differently to a call-up, but the point is that there is precedent in place, both in Boston and across the majors.

2013 has been a different kind of year for the Red Sox. After pressing the reset button on their high-priced talent with the Dodgers trade last August, adding to their already strong farm system, revamping their clubhouse chemistry quotient and brilliantly adding depth, Ben Cherrington has them back in contention sooner than anyone thought possible. The new Red Sox are a good combination of youth and experience, expensive stars and cheaper-but-effective role players. Traditionally, it has been difficult for young players to break into the Sox' lineup, especially when a spot hasn't been specifically opened for them. But this is a unique situation. The Sox are ahead of schedule and could use an upgrade at the exact spot their best prospect happens to play.

I believe in what the Sox have done -- stockpiling prospects while competing at the major league level. And I understand that some of those prospects will be used as assets to shore up the bullpen or add to the rotation. But one of those prospects may be ready to come up and be a star.

You might also like...

Greg and Chris talk with Mike Reiss from ESPN Boston in hour 2 of NFL Sunday to discuss a variety of offseason happenings with the Pats and throughout the league. Greg and Chris also get into the NFL Draft and where Mariota and Winston will go.

Mike Reiss calls the guys to talk about the offseason news for the Pats. He talks about the Pats/Jets tampoering fiasco, free agency, where he sees Ridley and Connolly ending up, if the Patriots would be interested in Reggie Wayne and more.

In the first hour of the show, Greg and Chris discuss the news coming out of the owners' meetings this week and rule changes. Belichick's blow-up over the league not wanting to spend on endzone cameras was well documented and the guys react. They also talk about the Jets ridiculous tampering charges, free agents still lingering out there, where Stevan Ridley will land and the RB position in New England. Dickerson and Price briefly discuss the adventures of Tom Brady before being joined by WEEI.com's Mike Petraglia to talk all things Pats in the offseason.

Flannery joins Mut to break down the Isaiah Thomas trade to Boston and what it means for the Celtics this season and in the future. Paul also chats with Mut about the other deals that happened at the NBA's trading deadline

Mut, Tomase, and Bradford kick things off talking about Shane Victorino taking offense to people reading into some comments he made about trading for Cole Hamels. They also discuss Blake Swihart and how soon he could be up if Christian Vazquez starts the season on the DL.

Joe Kelly joined the Hot Stove show where he talked about being ready for his next spring training start after a biceps ailment forced him out of his last outing, he talks about his NCAA brackets and how teammate Wade Miley has a perfect bracket still.

Peter Chiarelli joined the Sunday Skate crew to talk about the Bruins playoff push heading into the final handful of games of the regular season. Chiarelli talked about avoiding some of the overly negative feedback he gets while realizing that the team does have real issues. He discusses what went down at the trade deadline and if he was happy with the outcome, Lucic having a down year and underperforming, the salary cap and if he considers it as big of an issue as it's been made out to be and what the future holds for the team.

It's a big hour #2 for the Sunday Skate dudes - they talk about the B's defenseman and what the future looks like at that position, with both moves the team can make and younger guys in the AHL. They also get into the Bruins philosophy on bringing guys up and sending them back down and how players deal with that. Finally, the boys are joined by Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli to discuss EVERYTHING.

The Sunday Skate crew gets the show going discussing the Bruins big, impressive victory over the NY Rangers yesterday. What can you take from that game? According to LB - Lyndon Byers - who called the guys from the road, not a lot. LB drops a dime on what was going on with the Rangers yesterday. DJ and Joe discuss Claude's lines and groupings and the importance of Ryan Spooner. They also get into Lucic, his contributions this year and if he can turn things around.

With the Wells report seemingly wrapping up (we hope), Tim and Lou got to talking about possible fines and punishments the Patriots must face. It's possible that the Patriots will face a small fine, but should they take that laying down? The conversation brings out a little passion from BOTH sides.